SGI Recommendations for the New Administration

The Sunshine in Government Initiative is recommending that the new Administration of President-elect Barack Obama take four immediate, concrete steps to strengthen open government to counteract years of growing government secrecy in a climate in Washington increasingly hostile to the people’s right to know.

Read the Press Release, letter to President-elect Barack Obama and brief (4-page) white paper outlining the recommendations to the incoming president.

SGI testifies the new FOIA ombudsman should get up and running

The Sunshine in Government Initiative applauds the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives for holding an oversight hearing today on the National Archives' new Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), created by the OPEN Government Act (P.L. 110-175), the most comprehensive reforms of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in a decade.

"Last year, Congress created a place for the public to go for independent, fair assistance in resolving FOIA disputes," said Rick Blum, the coalition's coordinator. "We now know that the House and Senate appropriators support this office, and we're excited this independent office will start working soon. Now the Archives can begin shaping how this office works, using models in the many states that have these offices already in place," Blum said.

Read the full testimony.

SGI Recommends First Steps for FOIA Ombudsman

The National Archives and Records Administration should use resources when allocated from Congress for the new Office of Government Information Services to strengthen public trust in federal agencies' responses to Freedom of Information Act requests and cultivate a reputation for fairness in helping resolve disputes over government documents, according to recommendations released today from the Sunshine in Government Initiative.

Read the press release. SGI also summarizes the full set of recommendations. 2008-04-18